Last summer I "rescued" a kingfisher from the 520 bridge but he died before
I reached home. I donated him to the Bellevue Parks Dept. I learned some
interesting things about such situations, which I'll pass on to you and the
list readers.

It is important to freeze the bird as soon and as deeply as possible. One
method is to put him in a zip-loc freezer bag, remove as much air as
possible (a vacuum cleaner with a very small nozzle, such as used to clean
computer keyboards, can help with this), then freeze him. Frost-free
freezers are not very good for this, as they periodically thaw or circulate
air, creating freezer burn. One extra precaution against such damage is to
place the bag in a container of water and freeze the entire thing as a block.

Whomever the bird goes to, they may need a permit of some sort in order for
a taxidermist to preserve the pileated. At least that was the case with the
kingfisher, and we had to wait about 6 weeks while the permit came through.
I was told the taxidermist probably wouldn't get to it for at least several
months, so proper freezing is really important.

Marc

Marc Hoffman
Kirkland, WA
http://www.dartfrogmedia.com
mailto:tweeters at dartfrogmedia.com



At 01:26 PM 8/23/2005, cleoand wrote:
Hi Tweets: Just heard a loud "Plop" on the neighbor's window and found a
Pileated Woodpecker laying on his back. He appeared to be alive and we
wrapped him in a towel but he was bleeding from the mouth and we lost him.
Seems to be a young one but a beauty just the same. Does anyone know a
school or wildlife organization that would be interested in him? Seems such
a waste. Hoping to hear from someone. Thanks

Cleo Andreasen
Anacortes,WA
cleoand at fidalgo.net